Lunchbox contents of 17 yr old boy

[Moomoo75]

Hi there
My son is recovering from Anorexia. He missed a few months of school last yr but is fully weight restored now and back at school. Thankfully. He brings a packed lunch to school 2 breaks one 15 mins the second 25 mins. There is a lot out there about lunch boxes for primary school kids. Could some of you share what packed lunches / sizes you older teen boys eat at school please? Boys require a lot more calories than girls in this age bracket and I am looking for guidance. Thank you.

get him a bento box or similar with different compartments
there’s all different sizes available

Food flask for some hot food going in to winter. Get a bigger one, the smaller ones aren't big enough for my 11 year olds lunch portions. Most of the sistema boxes are suitable for teens/adults size wise. Aldi have similar boxes but cheaper atm too

How many calories does he need to be eating? Would he eat something like a smoked salmon and cream cheese bagel, malt loaf, banana and maybe a pack of crisps?

Ds takes pasta and also rice. You can get frozen rice like Korean rice in Tesco's and he heats this up in the morning and takes it in a flask. Homemade savoury muffins are also good. Nature valley bars i also buy. We have packets of fruit and nuts to put in a pot.

How many calories does he need? Work out the cals needed and go from there.

What does he like, does he want to be involved in the food selection/prep or is it better for him to not know and just focus on eating it?

Leftover dinners could be good calorie wise & easy for you to just cook an xtra portion - leftover lasagna, pasta, curry, etc.. Soup and nice bread in winter.

Peanut butter and banana, sandwiches/rolls, yogurt and fruit, slice of cake, crisps, chips & dip (hummus, salsa, etc).

At that age, my DS would have eaten two rounds of sandwiches - cheese or ham with lettuce, tomato, cucumber in, a bag of crisps, a piece of fruit, a chocolate biscuit, and maybe a sausage roll or similar on extra hungry days. Would have a couple of cereal bars or similar in a pocket for break and/or having before an after school club or on journey home.

I hope his recovery continues OP
My son takes a tupperware box (1 litre capacity) with rice and peas/pasta salad plus chicken drumsticks. He also takes a protein bar and a banana for break time. If he's staying after school for sports training he will take an additional snack box or a high calorie smoothie.

He tries to eat high protein and needs around 4,000 calories a day to support the sports he does. He is 16 (17 later this year) and 6'5" tall. Without the training he would probably need around 2,500 calories.

Would a high calorie smoothie be a good option for someone recovering from an ED?

I have worked out his calories. He needs about 400 at small break and 500 at big break. I don't want him involved in tge prep and he knows nothing about his calorie intake.
He isn't keen about taking a food flask . My younger Dd does like a food flask. Can I ask those of you that send left over dinner such as lasagne etc to school. Do they eat it cold or do they have facilities at school to heat it up? Our school doesn't unfortunately.
Some asked about Salmon. My son loves fish but won't take it to school due to the smell with friends etc really appreciate all the replies.
At the moment he might have a large chunk of Banana bread or tea brack. A good sized roll filled with Chicken or boiled ham. A choc bar, maybe some crisps or a banana etc depending on the day. I'd live to give him peanut butter but worry about allergies.
Nut products were banned in primary school and while secondary school hasn't banned them. I'm nervous. But it would such a great thing to give him as its quick to eat and dense in calories.

Having worked at a secondary, most students don't sit down, they stand around outside so find out how and where he eats at school. Stuff you can eat with one hand - sandwiches / wraps, fruit, salad with grains and proteins in a box they can munch with a fork maybe a smoothie with oats and flax seed etc to bulk it out with extra nutrients.

You can prep him the nutty things as an after-school snack as he walks through the door.

Thanks Waspie.
To maintain his weight he seems to need between 2900 and 3000 calories. I'm hoping this will stabilise as his metabolism is prob still high. He isn't involved in sport at the moment but walks daily for 45 mins ish.
I'm hoping his metabolism stabilises. He eats roughly every 3 hrs and has a high calorie smoothie after school.
Thanks.

If he’s not keen on food flask, sandwiches and rolls might suit him better. A nice crusty or seeded bread will offer good cals - add butter, mayo etc, whatever he likes. Extra chicken/ham/turkey, tomato, cucumber, cheese. A drizzle of oil to add cals.

Something like pesto pasta or tomato pasta could be eaten cold, might not be the nicest in winter though! Lasagna or curry etc I wouldn’t fancy cold. Would he have leftover pizza cold?

Maybe overnight oats for morning break? You can add flax seeds, toppings of his choice (fruit, choc spread, choc chips, coconut flakes) to bulk up cals.

Carrot or celery sticks with spicy hummus, crackers with cheese and chutney, grapes & cheese, protein smoothie.

Ds takes his pasta cold. Other things could be sausage rolls, the mini pizzas you get in Lidl, make some mini pasties that he could eat cold. Brioche etc are good as well. Mini quiche.

My ds is 16...every day he takes a tupperware style box with chicken and rice...he's happy to eat this cold.

They won't have facilities to heat up food. @Moomoo75 . If dd is eating cold then she takes things like pasta salad or pesto pasta. I'll add some cheese blocks or mozzarella balls on the side for some protein which is also good for extra calories. stir in some tuna/mackerel. Add a pepperami etc

It will depend too on how keen you are to cook.
homemade sausage rolls could be good. A quiche and any finger food type of things.
I think the banana cake is a good one but maybe adding a slice of quiche or a sandwich too?

My dcs we’re taking salads etc… but they had more time to eat and could sit down which doesn’t seem to be the case for your ds

What about something like a cheese scone for morning break?

Does he have access to hot water for a porridge pot?

Thank you everyone that's posted.
Since covid they no longer have access to hot water.

I hope he continues OK.

My 15yr old takes lunch. He's got a few food issues Inc. being dsiry-free, and I have to ensure he doesn't eat 1 thing too many times in a row or he'll stop eating it.
Stuff I find myself putting in (obviously not all in 1 go!)

Bagels
wraps / tends to be chicken
Pitta pockets
Veg samosas
Onion bhaji
Pasta salads
Panko chicken with salad .
Crackers with hummus/dips
Chunks of carrot/cucumber/pepper
Sushi

Apple or satsuma
Cereal bar
Lentil crisps (latest fad), rice cakes
Flap jack
Piece of cake
Cookie.

DS16's usual choice is lots of crispy lettuce with sliced roast chicken, half an avocado, Cesar dressing and croutons (I pack the dressing and croutons separately so they don't go soggy). Sometimes he'll take hot food - if I made a chilli or curry the night before eg.

@Moomoo75

Is there a dietitian to whom he can be referred via the surgery, OP?

I'm wondering whether they would be able to advise, given that he is recovering from anorexia.

It could be that he sees one regularly already, of course.

My daughter doesn’t have anorexia but is extremely selective eating and low weight. Probably autistic but won’t get tested. I’ve given up on trying to put anything healthy in her lunch box, I just want her to eat something… anything! She has a sandwich I make her on either nice thick bread or a decent size bread roll, her fave cereal bar, soreen banana loaf and choc biscuit. I used to get away with putting a chunk of cheese in there but she can’t stand cheese now. Sometimes she has an active yoghurt drink or occasionally a protein drink (one that advertises itself as the equivalent of a meal). She likes one particular flavour of that and I think it’s about 3 or 400 calories…

DS16 prefers to take a thermos of hot food but that’s not helpful for you.

In summer he takes pasta or cous cous salad. Sometimes cold crumbed chicken. When he was younger his favourite was ‘nachos’ so a bento box with corn chips, salsa, guac, cheese, pico de gallo all in the separate compartments and then he’d put it all together. He doesn’t have time for that any more apparently.

Tortilla wraps are also good and you can load them up with fillings. He likes chicken, ham, smoked salmon with salad, avocado (mash it with lemon juice so it doesn’t go brown). DS also loves sour cream and will have it on anything- that would get the calories up! Chicken, lettuce, avo with sour cream and sweet chilli sauce is a favourite.

In addition to the above DS always has some fruit like an apple or mandarin/satsuma. Bag of crisps, homemade cookies if we have any. And always a couple of muesli bars chucked in for days when he’s extra hungry.

Secondary schools don’t have nut bans because by that age kids are learning to manage their allergies. DS isn’t a big fan of nuts but DD18 will often take some almonds or cashews.